Bertrand Russell

Additional Information

Quotes

“In America everybody is of the opinion that he has no social superiors, since all men are equal, but he does not admit that he has no social inferiors.”

Bertrand Russell, UnpopularEssays

Arguments and Controversy

“The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way.”

Bertrand Russell, Unpopular Essays

Boredom and Bores

“Boredom is a vital problem for the moralist, since at least half the sins of mankind are caused by the fear of it.”

Bertrand Russell, The Conquest of Happiness

Conformity

“One should respect public opinion in so far as is necessary to avoid starvation and to keep out of prison, but anything that goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary tyranny.”

Bertrand Russell, The Conquest of Happiness

Enthusiasm and Zeal

“What hunger is in relation to food, zest is in relation to life.”

Bertrand Russell, The Conquest of Happiness

Fear

“Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.”

Bertrand Russell, Unpopular Essays

Gossip and Rumor

“No one gossips about other people’s secret virtues.”

Bertrand Russell, On Education

Heaven, Hell, and the Hereafter

“The infliction of cruelty with a good conscience is a delight to moralists. That is why they invented Hell.”

Bertrand Russell, Sceptical Essays

Hypocrisy

“We have, in fact, two kinds of morality side by side: one which we preach but do not practice, and another which we practice but seldom preach.”

Bertrand Russell, Sceptical Essays

Leisure

“To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization, and at present very few people have reached this level.”

Bertrand Russell, The Conquest of Happiness

Mathematics

“Mathematics may be defined as the subject in which we never know what we are talking about, nor whether what we are saying is true.”

Bertrand Russell, Mysticism and Logic

Mathematics

“Mathematics . . . possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty—a beauty cold and austere, like that of sculpture.”

Bertrand Russell, The Study of Mathematics

Moderation and Abstinence

“The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others.”

Bertrand Russell, Sceptical Essays

Philosophy

“To teach how to live without certainty, and yet without being paralyzed by hesitation, is perhaps the chief thing that philosophy, in our age, can still do for those who study it.”

Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy

Science

“Science tells us what we can know, but what we can know is little, and if we forget how much we cannot know we become insensitive to many things of very great importance.”

Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy

Technology

“Machines are worshipped because they are beautiful, and valued because they confer power; they are hated because they are hideous, and loathed because they impose slavery.”

Bertrand Russell, Sceptical Essays

Unhappiness

“Men who are unhappy, like men who sleep badly, are always proud of the fact.”

Bertrand Russell, The Conquest of Happiness

Work

“One of the symptoms of approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important, and that to take a holiday would bring all kinds of disaster. If I were a medical man, I should prescribe a holiday to any patient who considered his work important.”